Let's carry on with the presentation of my perfect TLC party, dear fellow gamers! As I mentioned in my last post, I initially toyed with the idea of doing away with Astrals entirely; however, it didn't take me long to realize that enlisting Astrals yielded nothing but benefits and to start hunting for suitable candidates in earnest. I'll admit it: shallow little me went for looks first and foremost. However, that approach ultimately paid off, as I recruited genuinely excellent Astrals in the process and managed to put together a well-assorted team that could pull off a well-oiled group strategy. Without further ado, here come my very own awesome Astrals!
Enoch: A.k.a. the Damager. I didn't exactly choose that hunky blond, as he was kindly given to me by Lucifel; however, since I was short on Astrals at the time, I gladly gave him a spot in my party. And blimey, he's been there ever since! He slowly but surely grew into a formidable offensive powerhouse, wielding physical Skills by the dozen (I have yet to try most of them, seriously) and delivering criticals like it's going out of fashion. He provides physical Wind coverage on regular blows and most Skills, but he also has access to a couple of non-elemental physical Skills that can come in handy when Wind is at disavantage. Add to this a neat HP-absorbing blow and a couple of buffs, and you get a perfectly well-rounded physical damage dealer that has a Skill at the ready for every situation. Enoch's only noticeable flaw is his pitiful defense; however, this kinda comes with the territory, and it remains perfectly manageable as long as one keeps an eye on his HP gauge.
Cait Sith: A.k.a. the Healer. I recruited that cute creature fairly early on and gave him a spot in my party instantly — because, you know, cat. Little did I know that this unassuming feline would still be strutting his stuff on the battlefield thirty hours later, and would do a great job at it to boot. He's my dedicated Healer, and his awesome Healing Wind group spell saved my party's arse more times than I care to count. His Territory of the Feeble debuff also comes in handy during boss fights, as well as his one-unit buffs, which are more effective and specialized than Lua's ones. Cherry on the cake, he's blessed with gargantuan amounts of MP, which allows me to spam Healing Wind and lengthen my roaming sessions without a care in the world. And surprisingly enough, he can deliver pretty decent Fire-infused blows as well and thus hold his own on the battlefield when he's not healing! That little kitty is a true hidden gem that, unlike other early recrues, managed to maintain his shine and his edge as time and dungeons went on.
Pandora: A.k.a. the Elementalist/Secondary Damager. That fiery elf is one of the game's rarest catch, appearing solely (and fittingly) in treasure chests, and quite seldom at that. By all monster-collecting RPG logic, she had to be a stellar recrue; I granted her the last available spot in my party to verify that hunch, and it turned out quite right indeed. Pandora is by far my party's strongest unit, delivering mighty blows like there's no tomorrow — and there is often none indeed for the foes that have the misfortune of being on the receiving end of her wrath. She herself doesn't have to worry about fatal blows, as she has the highest HP of all my party members and boasts excellent defense to boot. She's the perfect mixed attacker, with both physical and elemental Skills at her disposal; and whilst she's not blessed with as much MP as Cait Sith's, she still has more than enough to fire mighty Skills at bosses without running out.
Honorable mentions: Here's a word for the Astrals that joined my party for a while, yet didn't stick around for various reasons — many are called, but few are chosen indeed! First, we have Will-o'-the-Wisp, whose elemental Skills came in handy in the early stages of my run yet had to go because it peaked too quickly, and Echidna, who showed potential yet sadly had to vacate the premises to make room for Cait Sith. We also have Baphomet, who was a fixture during the middle stages of my run and would still be there if not for his regrettable plateauing and lack of Skills. Last but not least, we have Tamamo-no-Mae, who showed promise on the elemental front yet had to go because of her frailty and her unfortunate tendency to get KOed in battle. They still lounge in my back party just in case, but my main crew is so magnificent that they virtually never get to step in.
My mighty quintet's winning strategies are pretty much set by now. For random battles, I let them dispose of foes with regular blows, with a pinch of Enoch's Slice to get rid of full rows and a sprinkle of Cait Sith's Healing Wind if necessary. For boss battles, I start with Lua's Frontline Fortress for extra HP, followed by Healing Wind to fill up said extra HP and a Burst for good measure. Then, I let Enoch and Pandora wreak havoc on the boss' HP bar, whilst Cait Sith works his (de)buffing and healing skills, Hayato keeps himself poised for the next Burst and Lua does whatever fits the situation — heal, buff or deliver Lightning attacks. Granted, my elemental coverage could use a bit of polishing: two Fire Astrals are probably one too much, and whilst my party is pretty much covered on the Wind, Fire, Wood and Lightning fronts, it's still entirely lacking on the Water one. Still, I'm none too worried about this — all the less so as I actually had full coverage for a while, with Hayato wielding a Water weapon; however, it didn't change my battle fortunes that much. Guess I've reached a point where raw power matters more than elemental complementarities.
As I'm writing this, Cait Sith gloriously towers over the party at Lv.99, whilst Enoch and Pandora proudly flaunt their Lv.85 — needless to say, they're all fully EVILved. Hayato and Lua boast a more modest Lv.45, which is still pretty decent considering their much slower leveling-up rate. I'm on my way to the final boss' lair, and I'm fully determined to clear TLC with my awesome, beloved Dream Team. I'll see you again when the deed is done, dear fellow gamers! Until then, thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!
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